Green People have launched a luxurious new range of beauty products, called Organic Body Spa. They utilise natural oils, with delicious aromas so that you can have a virtual spa in your very own home. As with other Green People products the Organic Body Spa range is free from nasty synthetic additives and has been certified organic by the Soil Association and The Organic Food Federation (although I do not recommend eating the products).
The Blue Planet Run begins tomorrow, with 20 runners, across 16 countries and over 15,200 miles in 95 days, relaying the message that we must begin to tackle the global problem of inadequate and unsafe drinking water.
The run will being in New York on 1st June and the 20 athletes will leap off their starting blocks to run an around the clock route, for 24 hours a day, making 26.7 million strides. The route will take in: the U.S., Ireland, the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, Russia, China, Japan and Canada.
On my recent visit to a very wet and soggy Kingston green fair, I was very grateful to be offered shelter in the warmth of the Farm Yarn stall. As I huddled under the tarpaulin, fondling various balls of fluffy wool, I learned all about this brilliant company that sources eco-friendly, organic alpaca wool from farms that treat the animals with great care, resulting in a wool that's fantastic for knitting, and is also available spun into scarves and other accessories. Owner Volker Stiens joked that they had 'tried knitting the wool into alpaca shapes, but they came out looking like wooly giraffes!'
If you'd like to check out Farm Yarns' products, they've got an online store here.
If you'd like to win some really unusual green prizes, here's one for your diary: on Wednesday 13th July, Trees for Cities, will be launching their first ever ‘green auction’, in London’s atmospheric Inner Temple Gardens, which are well worth a visit in themselves...
La Verde Vita is to be the charity‘s exclusive summer event, and will start with a champagne garden reception and dinner, before the auction itself, and a comic interlude with comedienne Shazia Mirza. The prizes are somewhat star-studded: a bike ride and ethical dinner at Acorn House with Jon Snow, a VIP theatre experience with Alistair McGowan, an ‘eco’ house and garden makeover by TV experts Penney Poyzer and Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins, and a ‘green wheeled’ evening to the Graham Norton Show.
The plight of Britain's rare butterflies and moths is to be tackled by the Forestry Commission in an attempt to boost their dwindling numbers in the nation's woodland. They have teamed up with Butterfly Conservation and have identified 140 key sites which need action, 77 of those have been designated grade A priority sites as they are home to some of our rarest species, such as the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, and the Argent & Sable moth. The main reason for the decline in woodland butterflies and moths is complicated, but has been linked to a decline in woodland management and traditional skills such as coppicing, which is what creates bright open paths where butterflies thrive. They don't survive in the shady, overgrown, unmanaged woodlands.
Why bother going for the same wallpaper everyone else has - not to mention contributing to yet another tree dissapearing - when you could be utterly unique and retro-glam up your house with vintage, secondhand wallpapers from this US store.
The papers range from the 1860's to 1970 with prices starting at $70 for 60 square feet at Second Hand Rose.
Related: More home and garden
Scrummy organic food is as messy for your mini cook as any other food so why not go for a fairtrade apron like this one from Piccalilly? With a floral print, it's made from fairly traded cotton from Jaipur, India. It's just a shame they don't have a more 'butch' look for little boy helpers. One size fits 3-6 years £8.99
Other items in the Piccalilly range include bibs, bandanas, dresses, tops, tooth fairy pillows and laundry bags. Find them all at The Natural Store.
Related: More kids stuff I More fairtrade I More food and drink
The man behind the Fresh & Wild organic foodstores is launching his own natural range of skincare products called Nude. Bryan Meehan has created a range of products that are ethically sourced and manufactured, organic and free from possibly harmful chemicals. The entire range of cosmetics and skin care products has been developed to be effective and appealing without compromising the natural and organic nature of the ingredients. The ethos behind the range is to produce commercially acceptable products that are popular because they work well, rather than because they are eco-friendly and organic. Which is a reversal of most such products that are sold on their green credentials primarily.
Are corsages over? Not if Enamore have anything to say about it. We've written about this new range of corsages by Ruth Singer before but now they are available to buy online. The range using recycled and eco textiles are based on corsages from the 1930s and 40s. Each one is handmade and unique and a cheap, chic way of jazzing up your bags and jackets the eco way.
Pictured, organic silk Ginger Rosa with vintage leaf detail, £18 and reclaimed prints and a vintage button make up the Alicia corsage, £16.
Related: Gorgeous organic vintage from Enamore I More fashion and accessories
The Eden Project already has some beautiful works of art on display, but they'll soon be joined by one of the most breathtaking yet: entitled 'Seed', the sculpture is a giant monolith weighing more than the heaviest stone at Stonehenge, and currently stands beside the chasm at De Lank Quarry on Bodmin Moor where the stone was extracted after a long search for a boulder big enough for such a huge work of art. It's heading for the project's Core Education Building on the weekend of 9-11 June.
Once installed, the sculpture will be lit exclusively from the natural daylight, meaning that the weather and seasons will play across its surface. The sculpture's arrival will be celebrated on June 20 when Peter Gabriel features in a specially-created concert at the Eden Project.
The weather is all over the place at the moment - at the weekend, London was as cold as Siberia, and a week before that many of us burnt in tropical heat. It's not good news for lips, which can respond badly to temperature fluctuations, so we've come up with a few solutions for you.
If you want to keep your lips soft, smooth and crack-free this summer, there's a whole load of fabulous natural products to smear all over them. Here's our top 5 of luscious lip balms that won't give you too much of a chemical smile...
You don't have to be a hemp wearing, flower wielding hippy to be a vegan. I know many punk and goth vegans who certainly aren't interested in wearing the latest canvas shoe, as modelled by Kiera Knightly, and want something edgy and often extreme. For them, Pennangalan Dreams is the place to shop. They have a huge range of totally outrageous shoes and boots, most of which have ankle breaking platforms, but you can also find gems like these 'Zebra Pimp Shoe Winklepickers'. They are made from vegan leather and feature faux zebra skin inserts. They are also stuck together with vegan glue, so you can go out on the town flashing your new shoes safe in the knowledge that no animals were harmed so you can look cool! £57.10 (including postage to the UK).
Related: T.U.K Vulc Vegan shoes
The government announced a bold plan yesterday to have labels on products to show the environmental impact of producing, transporting and disposing the product. The government is working with the Carbon Trust and British Standards Institute (BSI) to develop the system over the next 18 months. Although the scheme will be voluntary, there are already a number of companies working with the project, for example Marks and Spencer and Tesco. A further 120 companies have expressed an interest in the scheme. The Carbon Trust is running a pilot project at the moment with Boots, Innocent Smoothies and Walkers crisps.
If you’re looking for a nice gift that does good too, take a peek on the Lola Rose jewellery site. 20 per cent of sales from these pink pieces goes to the Breast Cancer Campaign. As you can see below I've been perusing this fluffy pink website (see soy candle blog), and I came across these pendants. At £50 they make a substantial little present, and a substantial donation to a good cause. Lola Rose is an interesting company, started in 2000 by Nicola Gerwitz who is its sole creator and designer. She gave up her day job as a personal assistant after feeling “unfulfilled”. The pendants are officially launched in June, but you can make a pre-order purchase on the website. They also have pink bracelets to match.
Related stories: Everyman cancer awareness | Breakthrough breast cancer T-shirts
Check out some interesting green gifts in a new section at the Natural History Museum’s shop. Obviously recycled products are becoming somewhat cult items, and these glasses and goblets hide little that they used to be good old beer bottles. If you’re so much of a beer fan that you’d prefer your wine to come in a beer bottle, then these are one step closer to your dream. The Sol goblet is priced at £12 (click "continue reading") and the Grolsch at £15, and like all good things these days you don’t actually have to go there, but you can order them online. Check them out and some other interesting buys, although they appear at museum shop prices, so are more expensive. Although for anyone who can make it, the museum is a phenomenal experience for all. I think I might still have that crystal I bought in their shop in something like 1988.
The real shop is open 10.00 to 17.50 Monday to Saturday and 11.00 to 17.50 on Sundays, situated near the Cromwell Road entrance to the Museum.
Related stories: Biome recycled seatbelt cushions | Natural History Museum eco-labelling film
From: Green graffiti - It's all in the mossage